The wife of a jailed Chinese rights lawyer caught up in the July 2015 crackdown says he is suffering from memory loss in prison, raising concerns that the authorities may be dosing him with psychoactive medications.

Jiang Tianyong was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment on charges of “incitement to subvert state power” last November, after he pleaded guilty at what his family said was a show trial in August.

Jiang has yet to be transferred to prison from the Changsha No. 1 Detention Center, where he was held under pretrial detention and pending appeal, but was recently permitted a visit from his sister, who found his health deteriorating and his memory unreliable, his U.S.-based wife Jin Bianling told RFA.

Jin said Jiang’s memory has shown “serious deterioration” since the last visit by a lawyer or family member, leading the family to suspect he has been force-fed with psychiatric medications — a method the Soviet Union used against political prisoners that China has also employed.

She said fellow rights lawyers detained in a nationwide police operation that began in July 2015 have reported being force-fed various types of medication.

“All of the lawyers detained in the July 2015 crackdown have been force-fed medication,” Jin said. “That’s why I suspect that Jiang Tianyong has too.”

On 23 February, the bail application of senior counsel and human rights lawyer Upendra Nayak was rejected by the Junior Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Mohana in Gajapati district in Odisha state. He was arrested on 20 February by Paralakhemundi Police. His next bail application will be filed before the District Judge.

On 21 February 2018, Upendra Nayak appeared before Gajapati Judicial Magistrate and was sent to R. Udaygiri Jail.

On 20 February, Upendra Nayak was arrested in relation to ten criminal cases where he himself was the defense lawyer and has been charged under sections 121, 121-A, 124-A of the Indian Penal Code which are related to sedition, waging war against the State, and various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. These cases were registered between 2009 and 2010 wherein he successfully defended adivasi individuals who were arrested under anti-Maoist operations. All the trials ended in acquittals.

This is not the first case where a lawyer representing or working with adivasi people has been subjected to judicial harassment in India. Most recently, Advocate A. Murugan was arrested in 2017 in relation to criminal cases in which he had been defending the accused.

Front Line Defenders condemns the arrest of of human rights defender Upendra Nayak, as it strongly believes that it is directly linked to hispeaceful and legitimate work as a human rights lawyer in Odisha state in India.

ARRESTED LAWYER SULEYMAN GOKTEN WAS BATTERED IN PRISON CELL BY THE PRISON GUARDS

Kept in Tekirdağ No. 1 Type T Prison, Süleyman Gökten has told his lawyers that he and the inmates staying in the same cell were battered by guards last morning (February 26).

Speaking to bianet, lawyer Tamer Doğan and Ezgi Çakır conveyed that six of those battered in the cell were kept in room of sponge with their hands and feet handcuffed for six hours. Doğan and Çakır said that they will file a criminal complaint against the prison administration and guards.

According to Gökten’s lawyers Çakır and Doğan, as many as 50 guards entering the cells for morning roll call assaulted and battered them.

Lawyer Doğan added that those who were battered weren’t taken to infirmary on the pretext that there was no doctor in the prison.

Romanians rallied across the country and abroad on Sunday to denounce government attempts to sack the nation’s top anti-corruption prosecutor and pursue reforms that could benefit scandal-plagued politicians from the ruling party.

Thousands gathered on a snowy evening in the capital, Bucharest, and smaller protests took place in other cities and outside Romanian embassies, including in Dublin, in the latest round of demonstrations against the governing Social Democrats (PSD).

Justice minister Tudorel Toader sparked the protests by calling last week for the dismissal of Laura Codruta Kovesi, for allegedly exceeding her powers as head of Romania’s national anti-corruption directorate (DNA). The DNA has been highly praised by international experts for prosecuting numerous deputies, ministers and two ex-prime ministers for alleged wrongdoing in recent years, but Ms Codruta Kovesi has made powerful enemies along the way.

Support to the Implementation of the Judicial Reform in Armenia

Council of Europe Project “Support to the implementation of judicial reform in Armenia”, CCBE and the Chamber of Advocates of Armenia

The Council of Europe, the CCBE and the Chamber of Advocates of Armenia is organising the conference with the aim to provide a platform for sharing information and experience on the current challenges of the bars and law societies, explore detrimental issues in the bar associations and propose concrete steps for strengthening the cooperation and ties amongst the bar associations and law societies of the Council of Europe member states.

The main objective of the Conference is to facilitate a dialogue and exchange of the best practice between the bars and law societies of different Council of Europe member states. The exchange that will take place between professionals from different countries shall create a solid platform for argumentation and it seeks to generate – and contribute to – a wider debate about the potential improvements in the bar associations and for the profession of an advocate. Even if the directions and the policies of the bar reforms may differ from country to country, discussion on the primary concepts and challenges unites different Council of Europe member states.

The scope of the Conference: The one day-long discussion will include presentations by leading members of CCBE, experts and representatives of bars and law societies of different Council of Europe member states.